Larry Preddy has a keen interest in the appearance and maintenance of the trails at Woodlawn Regional Park.
He says he鈥檚 been using the trail system for about 17 years, dating back to when he would walk his three miniature schnauzers around the trails.
鈥淚 used to walk them in Woodlawn a lot, and discovered the trails back here, and found that they were a good place to walk the dogs,鈥� said Preddy. 鈥淚 actually got to love the place.鈥�
The trails are a secluded place to walk, he said. They鈥檙e protected from the wind, they bring him close to nature and he will see lots of birds an even an occasional deer during his treks.
The dogs loved walking in the park, too.
The flood of 2011 caused significant damage to the trail system and the rest of the park. Once the cleanup process began, the park had bigger priorities than the trails, and so they weren鈥檛 initially maintained.
Since he enjoyed walking at the park, and other people enjoyed the trails, too, Preddy started maintaining them in 2013.
鈥淎t the same time, I started volunteering at the park, mowing grass and so forth, so I decided to take the mower in there and mow some trails,鈥� said Preddy. 鈥淚 actually rejuvenated the main trail going through, and cut a couple others in as well with the mower. And then I鈥檝e kept them up ever since.鈥�
He鈥檒l dedicate a few hours a month to the trails and to mowing fields inside the park.
鈥淚 probably spend 200 to 300 hours a year down here, just volunteering,鈥� said Preddy.
The park鈥檚 staff dedicates a lot of time to the trails as well, and Preddy, who happens to be the chair of the park board, stressed they do a great job.
Woodlawn has a large network of trails that extend to almost all corners of the park. One goes through the main area of the park, and then there are two or three offshoots of that trail that take people to the dog park, the new Fresh Air Fitness site and Mets Stadium. A walking bridge takes people to Rotary Park and campgrounds.
They are working on a trail that will take people to the Doug Third Hall.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always more trails to come,鈥� Preddy said.
The park could use some moisture to improve the appearance of the trails, but people seem happy with them, and Preddy is happy, too.
He hopes the addition of the Fresh Air Fitness outdoor exercise site will help increase the number of people using the trails, since the site is next to the entrance of a trail, and there is a meditation area near a trail as well.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 not too much snow in the winter, it鈥檚 a good place to bring your cross-country skis 鈥� and if there鈥檚 no snow, it鈥檚 a great place to walk in the winter, too,鈥� said Preddy.
Preddy received quite an honour late last year when the park鈥檚 board decided to name the trails after him. Before making the decision, the board asked him to leave the room, leaving him to wonder if he was in trouble.
鈥淎pparently they got a letter, the source is unknown, asking them to name the trails after me,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淎nd they passed the motion.鈥�
Preddy says that if he would have been in the meeting, he likely would have said no to the honour, because a lot of people have done a lot of work with the park, and are more deserving than him.
鈥淭here were people sitting around the board table who have spent years with the park, and there are the previous board members, and all sorts of contractors and so forth, and they are probably more deserving of it than I am,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat said, the honour is nice.鈥澛�
